Merry CHRISTMAS Eve

Merry Christmas Eve to everyone!

I had such a great time, regardless of short amount of time, spending a day with my sister in law and nephew, her fiancee and his adorable girls. Kind of reminded me what Christmas is supposed to be about and with the amount of seemingly terrible news I've been getting lately, I needed this bit of spiritual pick me up:)

We are now on the road again. We were able to get some rest yesterday after we got to my sister's house and slept really well. I heard little voices and footsteps so I woke up and the kiddos were all wide eyed and bushy tailed oogling their presents from Santa under the tree. I woke my husband up while crawling over him to get out of bed and he got out of bed and went out and sat on the couch and waited with me for the mayhem to commence:)

Let's just make this short and say that Christmas at my sister in law's house really reminded me of what Christmas is about. It's a time to forget anything bad and negative in the world and just reflect on what you have and WHO you have in your life.

We arrived in Michigan a little bit after 1900 and showed up at the Christmas Eve service at my dad's church. We were a little late so we tried to sneak in but he saw us come through the door and smiled and almost started crying, which of course made me tear up a little bit.

Mom was reading the scripture and there was a good 50 minutes or so left in the program. Allllll my favorite church folk were there and this amazing man Cal, invited 20 people and 18 of them came. He does such amazing community outreach and what appeals to me is his dedication to the military and our nation's veterans. He's spoken in front of congress, traveled overseas, led rallies, you name it, and this man has done it.

The church service finally ended and my mama came down off the stage and gave us hugs and then I worked my way up through the people talking to dad and gave him the biggest hug I could. It was a great feeling being able to surprise him on Christmas Eve. I'm almost on the verge of tears just replaying the moment in my head.

My favorite older brother is here also. It's amazing that in High School, we never got along and now, we take advantage of when we see each other because it's very rare that it happens. His girlfriend (hopefully sometime in the near future, fiancee) is spending Christmas with her family so we won't get to see her while we are here or their awesome american bulldog, Capone.

Hmm...well, seeing as how it's almost midnight, I should get some sleep but I'm just too excited to be home. I love the Christmas tree, the backyard, the weirdly shaped driveway, the kitchen, I just love being here. Makes you really believe that home is where the heart is.

ahhh...*dreamy sigh*

Goodnight world, and Merry Christmas Eve to ALL :)